Orange

On September 12, Doug and I visited the Leila Aboretum near Battle Creek, Michigan. It was rather late in the season, but there were still lots of beautiful flowers. Today's post will feature some of the flowers of an orange color.

I'm totally inept when it comes to identifying plants, so I won't even try. I can enjoy the beauty without knowing the ID. I hope you can, too.

I hope you've enjoyed these. I'll have more photos from the Leila Arboretum in future posts.

Country Cove Store

When we visit Doug's brother, we usually go out to a restaurant for supper. Then it's our custom to go for a drive in the country together. On one of those drives, we discovered the Country Cove Store, not far from Coldwater, Michigan, at the North Chain of Lakes.

What captured our attention was the sign advertising "Hand-Dipped Ice Cream."

I love the old-fashioned feel of the store on the inside.

Outside the Country Cove Store, on a fence at the edge of their parking lot, is a sign advertising "Two Fellers Tree Service." I had seen the sign on a previous visit and wanted a picture, but it was raining and I didn't want to get my camera (or my hair) wet.

So, on this beautiful evening in August, I got my photograph. The two chairs next to the sign were an added bonus.

The lady inside the store told me that she and her husband had placed the chairs there, hoping that someone would want them and haul them away. She said, however, that there had been lots of people stopping to take pictures of those two chairs next to the sign. I guess I wasn't the only one who thought it made an interesting photo.

Birds and Thistles

We spent another afternoon at Ouabache State Park on September 3rd. You'll probably be relieved to hear that the dragonfly season seems to be over. I didn't see a single one that day. But I still found things to photograph.

We saw lots of Cedar Waxwings, but none of these beautiful birds were within satisfactory range of my lens. That didn't keep me from trying for a shot, though.

A female Downy Woodpecker also paid us a visit.

Then there was a pretty little Eastern Bluebird perched on a barbecue grill.

And, lastly, I found the thistles irresistible.

Until next time...

Dragonflies and More from Ouabache State Park

This is another set of photos from what has become our favorite state park. These were all taken during a visit to the park on August 23, 2013.

The first two are flowering weeds that grow along the water's edge.

And what would a post from Ouabache State Park be without a few dragonfly images?

Eastern Amberwing Dragonfly

This isn't a great shot of the Eastern Amberwing Dragonfly, but I liked the reflection.

Widow Skimmer Dragonfly

Widow Skimmer Dragonfly

A little fall color sets off this picturesque dead tree.

Montana Country Church

Two years ago, when driving along Highway 2 in Montana, we spotted this little church, just begging to be photographed.

I couldn't quite make out the name of the church, other than that it was Presbyterian.

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday.

Barns

There are so many interesting barns in our part of the country. Today I want to show you some of them.

The angle of the above shot makes it look as if this is all one barn, but there are actually about 20 feet separating the metal structure from the wooden one. These two barns always catch my eye, partly because of the texture and colors in the wooden one and the interesting shades of green on the metal one.

Below are closer looks at each of them.

It's difficult to say whether the lighter shades of green resulted from someone's artistic flair or from an attempt to cover someone else's flair for graffiti.

Now, the following photograph is of a barn that we pass on our way to Ouabache State Park. There was no place to stop the car on the busy highway, so this was a drive-by shot.

This barn is quite large, and I suspect it's very old. It's a "bank barn"...one that is built into the side of a hill or bank, allowing ground-level access to both the upper and lower levels.

Today marks my third anniversary of blogging. I began this adventure on September 10, 2010, never imagining all the interesting people I would meet in the process and all the new things I would learn and see through each of your blogs. It's been fun.

If you want to see how it started, click here to see my very first post.

Homer Independent Baptist Church, Alaska

When Doug and I drove to Alaska in 2007, we visited the Homer Independent Baptist Church in Homer, Alaska.

I didn't capture much of the building itself in the photograph because I wanted to include some of the beautiful setting. Can you blame me?

If you'd like to see more from that Alaska adventure, scroll down my sidebar to the section, Blog Post Topics, and click on "Alaska Trip 2007." You'll find a series of posts chronicling the entire adventure.

 

Linking to InSPIREd Sunday.

Winged Things

Here are a few more photos from recent visits to Ouabache State Park.

One of several Canada Geese who were enjoying splashing in the small lake.

An Eastern Amberwing Dragonfly, in flight.

I don't know the ID of this dragonfly, but I was intrigued by the green nose and mouth.
(Thanks to Hilary for identifying this as a male Eastern Pondhawk.)

This image lacks sharpness, but it gives a little better look at that face.

Twelve-spotted Dragonfly

Eastern Amberwing Dragonfly on Daisy Fleabane Plant

This turquoise damselfly is also on a daisy fleabane plant. It gives a little perspective as to how tiny this damselfly is.